


The Lines Are Blurring

by confessorlove



Category: White Collar
Genre: Episode Tag, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2014-06-08
Packaged: 2018-02-03 22:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1758067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confessorlove/pseuds/confessorlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal and Rebecca take a walk through the park while Rebecca grapples with the fact that things in her life are rapidly changing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lines Are Blurring

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting 95% complete in a word document for ages. I wrote this because I wanted some sort of explanation for the "evil witch ring" (to quote Bridget Regan) that Rebecca starts wearing in 5x08 and wears until 5x11. As such this is simply an idea of where she could have gotten it. Set immediately following 5x07, but there are spoilers for the entire season.

She felt light for the first time in a long time.  It was as if her personality had blended with that of Rebecca Lowe.  Rachel wanted Neal close to make him more vulnerable.  Rebecca wanted to be loved.  However, deep down that was all Rachel wanted as well.  His lips on hers were welcome and when the kiss finally broke, Rachel was grinning.  It wasn’t manipulative.  It wasn’t fake.  It was as if Rebecca had completely overtaken her in a way that had never happened before.

“Hi,” she murmured as she looked up into his eyes.

Neal brushed a lock of ginger hair behind her ear in response.  “Hey.”

The warmth she felt in her heart was unfamiliar and she didn’t know what she was doing.  It was a feeling so wrong.  Rachel always knew what she was doing, but this was unfamiliar territory.  He smiled and her heart skipped a beat.  Neal’s hand grasped hers lightly and she wondered if this was what it was like to truly be cared for by someone.

Those realizations made her blood turn to ice.  This was not what she was supposed to be doing.  She was conning him, not herself.  “I…I should go,” Rachel stammered but Neal tightened his grip on her hand.  “I should go research this church and see if it has any connection to Mosconi.”  She was scrambling.  Rebecca wouldn’t have run from affection, but Rachel Turner didn’t know how to handle it.

Neal frowned and the spy in her couldn’t help but wonder if he was simply trying to manipulate her like she had done with him.  Was he conning her still?  After all, Rebecca still thought he was Agent Caffrey.  “Rebecca,” he murmured and his tone was soothing.  It was like balm on her worried heart.  She didn’t need to be concerned.

“Yeah?”

He tilted his head and smiled at her.  “Let me walk you home.”

Rachel wanted to run.  She didn’t want to stay close to him when his kiss made her heart flutter in the strangest way.  However, Rebecca wouldn’t run.  Rebecca was shy and sweet, but she was a romantic at heart.  A light blush tinted her freckled cheeks as she gazed up into his eyes.  “Okay.”  Her apartment was outside his radius, but that didn’t matter.  Neal would realize it before they got anywhere close to her place.  He’d make up an excuse and leave.  After all, Rebecca Lowe didn’t know about his tracking anklet.

Neal led Rachel through the park across the street from the church as they walked.  It was lovely and beautiful, but her head kept spinning.  She wanted to pull her hand away from his, but she knew that Rebecca wouldn’t do that.  Rebecca had limited experiences with men.  Rebecca would soak up every drop of affection Neal offered here while all she wanted to do was run in the opposite direction.

Birds chirped as they strolled through the park and when they passed close by a bush blooming with flowers, Rachel sneezed.  “Bless you,” Neal said as he glanced over at her.  “Need a tissue?”

She shook her head.  “No, I’m alright.”

All throughout the park there were people laughing, street performers, vendors with tables, and artists painting.  Rachel rarely allowed herself moments of peace to simply enjoy the simplicity of life, but that was what she could do now with Neal.  “Look at this,” Neal said as he tugged her towards one of the simple tables covered with art.  Neal knew art so it should not have surprised her that he wanted to stop and look at it. 

“They’re beautiful,” she replied.  They were, but Rebecca would have cared far more than Rachel did.  The artist beamed and Neal quickly got into a conversation with the man selling the little trinkets.  The table was littered with small metal statuettes and pieces of jewelry set with stones.  Things that were simple and natural in their construction rarely caught Rachel’s eye but the more time she spent in Rebecca’s shoes, the more she cared.  When her gaze fell on a ring set with an onyx stone, her fingers reached out to brush along the band.  It was gold and the simple stone was the perfect accent.

Slowly she picked up the ring and examined it in the sunlight.  The ring sparkled in the sunlight and Neal suddenly stopped speaking.  She turned to watch him only to notice he was watching her.  “You’ve got good taste, Rebecca.”  A light blush tinted her cheeks pink as Neal turned back to the vendor.  “How much for the one she’s picked?”

“Neal, I don’t need it.”

He smiled at her and once more she had to remind herself that she was not Rebecca Lowe.  Neal wasn’t really interested in her.  “I want to buy it for you.”  As if to emphasize that, Neal pulled out his wallet and handed the man some money.

She sighed and shook her head in amusement.  Despite her protests, Rachel was pleased with the small gesture for more reason than one.  It meant that Neal was beginning to care for Rebecca, as if the kiss hadn’t already been proof, but it also was a gesture that Rachel had completely forgotten.  She had not had someone care for her on a basic level in a long time.  It was easy to forget what it was like to have someone do kind things for her simply because they could.

Rachel watched silently as Neal purchased the ring for her, but when he turned towards her with the ring in hand and a bright grin on his face, she couldn’t help but smile.  He looked so proud of himself and it was a nice thing to see.  What she had learned about Neal Caffrey prior to meeting him was so different from the man she was getting to know.  True he was a cocky forger, but she was quickly realizing there was something more there that people did not frequently see.  She felt privileged to get glimpses of it during their time together.

“Rebecca,” Neal said as he took her hand in his and slipped the ring on the middle finger of her left hand.  In a typical Neal Caffrey way, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her ring.  “It suits you.”

There was something about the gesture that sent shivers down Rachel’s spine.  The ring did suit her.  He was right about that.  She looked down at it and smiled.  “I love it,” she murmured as a grin grew on her face.  The lines between Rachel and Rebecca were blurred to the point that she didn’t even know who was speaking to him.  “It’s beautiful.”

“Just like you,” he grinned.

Instantly a light blush colored her cheeks and she adjusted her glasses to distract focus from that.  Compliments were new territory for her.  Of course, Rachel Turner knew she was gorgeous.  She knew how to use that to her advantage, but sincere compliments were few and far between.  For once in her life, Rachel was speechless.  She simply stared at him for a moment as he smiled.

Lightly her finger brushed along the ring that now graced her finger as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.  “Well aren’t you the charmer, Agent Caffrey,” Rachel retorted once she found her voice once again.

Neal shrugged.  “I try.” 

Rachel laughed as she smiled.  It felt as though Rebecca Lowe was consuming her and becoming who she really was.  That frightened her, but it also forced her to wonder if Rebecca Lowe hadn’t been who she was all along.  Maybe Rachel Turner was a product of environment.  Perhaps Rebecca is who she would have been if her life went down a different path.  It was a hard thing to imagine, but Rachel thought maybe she could have been happy. 

“I’m glad you do,” Rachel said as Neal took her hand and continued to lead her thought the park.  It was true.  This was the beginning of something wonderful; she just hoped her heart would survive it and that was something she never had to worry about before.


End file.
